Bigtable Schema Design and CLI Operations

Table of Contents

1. Challenge

   Create a Cloud Bigtable Instance and Table Using the cbt CLI

   1. Verify CLI/tooling access and set the active project/region context.
   2. Create a Bigtable instance sized for fast lab feedback (development instance).
   3. Create a table and at least one column family aligned to the access pattern (operational event storage).
2. Challenge

   Design Row Keys that Prevent Hotspotting and Support Efficient Queries

   1. Review the initial (naive) row key design and the team’s primary query patterns.
   2. Observe the failure: identify how the naive key layout leads to hotspotting or inefficient query behavior.
   3. Redesign the row key using a scalable pattern (e.g., hashed/salted prefix, reversed timestamp, and composite keys).
   4. Recreate or migrate data into the improved schema and compare the behavior.
3. Challenge

   Query Bigtable Using Prefix and Regex Filters to Retrieve Targeted Data

   1. Use cbt reads to retrieve rows by prefix aligned to query patterns (per-customer or per-order lookups).
   2. Apply regex filters to narrow results without scanning unrelated keys.
   3. Validate that the improved row key design makes these queries practical and predictable at scale.